Blast from the Past--Medical Care in Your Home

Unless you were around in the 1950's you probably don't know that it was common to see a man carrying a small black bag knock on a neighbor's door. Who would it have been? Today you might think, insurance salesman, Amway salesman or even political office seeker. Would it surprise you to know that it was the family doctor?

Back in those days physicians would often visit patient's homes to render care. Most everyone thought it was good idea, but this convenience seemed to vanish as doctors became increasingly inundated with patients during the baby boom.

There wouldn't be much to this story on house calls and medical services in the home if it were not for an organization known as Family Home Care and Hospice (FHCH) of Spokane, WA. A home health agency, FHCH serves patients in Northern Idaho and Eastern Washington State. The company has launched a new service offering primary medical care in patients' homes. The new service, aptly named "House Calls", will offer a wide range of primary care services including diagnosing medical conditions, check-ups, drawing blood, prescribing medications and monitoring of medications. House Calls patients may continue to receive their on-going and follow up care from the House Calls medical professional or their care can be coordinated with or referred back to their regular physician.

FHCH providers are Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners (ARNP) who have been specially trained and licensed to provide in-home medical services. The ARNP staff at FHC prefers to visit a patient in their home rather than in a clinic or hospital setting.

"It gives us an opportunity to spend much more time with each patient," explained Carol Charles, ARNP. "We get to know them on a much more personal level and can observe the environment in which they live. Many times those observations give us a greater advantage in prescribing effective treatments than if we were seeing the patient in a clinic."

While the new House Calls service is ideal for bed ridden or home bound people, it is not meant only for them. Anyone who would prefer to receive their primary care medical services at home can make use of the service.

"Certainly the greatest need for the service is among the elderly," said Alicia Bowman Primary Care Coordinator for FHCH, "but the service is not restricted that group alone. We also see a goodly number of younger patients."

In many communities throughout the nation, services which will deliver primary medical care in the home are non-existent. Without a House Calls style service, many people in the community will postpone medical care until their condition deteriorates enough to require emergency treatment. Even under the best conditions, some bed ridden or immobile patients postpone their care long enough that their problems have become significantly more serious. Having a service like House Calls available in a community is critical to the health of these people.

The demand for a House Calls style service in the Spokane area is vigorous. The situation is likely much the same in other markets. The increasing population of elderly patients across the nations means that such in-home services will be required in most communities across the country.

The expertise and systems for programs like House Calls are found in the many home health agencies in communities throughout our country," added Michael Nowling, President of FHCH. "If home health agencies throughout the nation took on this challenge, it would be a tremendous help to our elderly residents and would also represent a significant decrease in the load currently being experienced by hospital emergency rooms and ER staff."

The largest privately owned home health agency in it's market area, Family Home Care and Hospice has been seeing patients in the Inland Northwest for more than 40 years. Family Home Care and Hospice has been honored by Medicare as one of the top 1 percent of home health agencies in Washington State. They have also been recognized as being among the top five percent of home health agencies in the nation.

Article Source: http://mylilpeanut.com

Michael Nowling is the President of FHCH, a home health agency in the Spokane area, WA. The largest privately owned home health agency in the Spokane area, FHCH has been serving the inland Northwest for more than 40 years.

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